Jack Black continues his march to stardom with this typical Farrelly brothers blend of broad comedy and a heartfelt message. Black is Hal Larsen, a shallow man rapidly approaching middle age whose superficiality can be attributed to his… MoreJack Black continues his march to stardom with this typical Farrelly brothers blend of broad comedy and a heartfelt message. Black is Hal Larsen, a shallow man rapidly approaching middle age whose superficiality can be attributed to his father's deathbed admonition to only date young, beautiful women. Hal and his best friend, Mauricio (Jason Alexander), have taken the advice to heart, but Hal finds all of his physically impressive girlfriends consistently lacking in other qualities that would make them ideal mates. When he bumps into self-help guru Tony Robbins (playing himself), the motivational entrepreneur is intrigued by Hal's predicament and hypnotizes him so that he'll only see the inner beauty of women. Hal is quickly smitten with Rosemary Shanahan (Gwyneth Paltrow), a blonde Peace Corps volunteer who's tenderhearted, funny, and intelligent. She is also gorgeous and meets Hal's basic criteria of outer perfection, but what he doesn't realize is that Robbins' spell is working and he cannot see that Rosemary actually weights 300 pounds. When Mauricio is finally able to snap Hal out of his charmed state, Hal's in love with the inwardly perfect woman and must overcome his obsession with beauty. The script for Shallow Hal (2001) was developed when Peter Farrelly enjoyed the humorous letters written to a mutual friend by Sean Moynihan, a computer software executive who followed the filmmaker's advice to take up screenwriting. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

The Farrellys take an artistic step backward with this soft, disappointingly sentimental comedy about the true nature of beauty; they seem to have forgotten their roots in the outrageous and gross-out.

This is one of those movies that I always watch if I happen to flip to it half an hour in on TBS or FX. Yes, there are plenty of fat jokes, but Gwyneth is the… MoreThis is one of those movies that I always watch if I happen to flip to it half an hour in on TBS or FX. Yes, there are plenty of fat jokes, but Gwyneth is the most down-to-earth I've ever seen her, and Jack Black gets some great dawning moments as well, like with Cadence in the burn ward.

Matt Goodman

I simply don't care enough to lay out a full review, so I'll just say that this film was decently funny despite a few lazy performances. The writing… MoreI simply don't care enough to lay out a full review, so I'll just say that this film was decently funny despite a few lazy performances. The writing was horrible, the story was horrible, yet I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

Nicki Marie

Good comedy movie. It doesn't all work, but comes close enough to. Gwyneth Paltrow is great as Rosemary (although the fat suit really is the worst,… MoreGood comedy movie. It doesn't all work, but comes close enough to. Gwyneth Paltrow is great as Rosemary (although the fat suit really is the worst, especially around her face. Does not look right at all. She would be prettier than that, even with extra weight). And Jack Black is less irritating than usual (though only just). This is enjoyable because it has a nice message, and though there is some nastiness here, the overall message is good and it does have a lot of laughs with a good cast.

Dean McKenna

Quite a fine comedy. Beyond the gag of having the slim Gwyneth Paltrow play an overweight, there is okay and little fun in this film.
There are some great gags… MoreQuite a fine comedy. Beyond the gag of having the slim Gwyneth Paltrow play an overweight, there is okay and little fun in this film.
There are some great gags to be had, some really beautiful babes, mind you when Hal is under the 'spell', the really good looking ones are all very, very ugly!!! ugh!
Paltrow is gorgeous to look at as always, and there are some genuinely funny moments and there is one plot revelation that will have you 'rolling over' in laughter!!!
Not amazing, and not awful, an above average effort.

Apeneck Fletcher

A message comedy? Perhaps. The Farrelly Brothers seem to be answering their critics who often see them as sophomoric (if that) with this bon bon (forgive me)… MoreA message comedy? Perhaps. The Farrelly Brothers seem to be answering their critics who often see them as sophomoric (if that) with this bon bon (forgive me) that reminds that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The comedy: one fat joke after another. The message: like most messages, boring as hell (who do you think you are, tryin' ta larn me!). The final analysis: viewers choice.

Bethany Murphy

Absolutely hilarious! A must see!

Jameson Worley

"Let me just take a small sliver of this cake......"

Dean !

A decent rom-com with a quite a few good laughs, a bit different to most. Jack Black is quite a funny guy and the main theme of him seeing the inner beauty only… MoreA decent rom-com with a quite a few good laughs, a bit different to most. Jack Black is quite a funny guy and the main theme of him seeing the inner beauty only while all around him wonder what is going on is a good comedy angle.

Sophie Burgess

Quite a generic Hollywood chic flick.

Anthony Lawrie

Apart from the fact that this film has only one joke in it and tells it a hundred times, it's not too bad. I don't particularly like Jack Black… MoreApart from the fact that this film has only one joke in it and tells it a hundred times, it's not too bad. I don't particularly like Jack Black either, especially in this film. Credit due though, the message is there and the scene with the little girl in the burns unit is actually really touching and tastefully done. I also really like Jason Alexander. There were some George Costanza moments here and that's got to be worth an extra star!

Richard C

C

Conner Rainwater

I just don't think this panned out like it was supposed to. You'd think with such a funny cast that it would've been at least funny, but it… MoreI just don't think this panned out like it was supposed to. You'd think with such a funny cast that it would've been at least funny, but it really wasn't. It went way too far into being a drama and having life lessons about dating and how you should judge a person. It's interesting to see Gwyneth Paltrow as a fat person, but beyond that it's not much.